Enrollment and freshman applications set all-time record at Ann Arbor campus

By Deborah Meyers Greene
Public Affairs

Enrollment at the Ann Arbor campus has set an all-time record for the fifth consecutive year, with 43,710 students in fall 2013, according to the Office of the Registrar. That represents an increase of 284 students (0.7 percent).

The number of graduate/professional students decreased by 20 (-0.1 percent) to 15,427 enrolled, while undergraduate enrollment grew by 304 (1.1 percent) to 28,283. This includes an entering class of 6,225, which is 54 students (0.9 percent) more than in 2012.

For the seventh consecutive year, applications for the entering class of 2013 set an all-time record: 46,813, which are 4,269 (10.0 percent) more than the previous year. The university issued 15,570 offers of admissions, 19 more than last year.

For the first time in 10 years, the freshman class arrives with a clear majority of women, with 3,190 (51.24 percent) women and 3,035 (48.76 percent) men.

"I am impressed every year by the steadily rising caliber of our incoming class," said Lester Monts, senior vice provost for academic affairs. "Their established records of academic achievement, creative endeavor, community engagement, and diversity of backgrounds and opinions tell us they will both thrive within the university's community of scholars and contribute to our prolific intellectual and cultural environment."

U-M students choose from approximately 670 degree programs, including nearly 250 undergraduate degree programs, and more than 7,200 courses offered by its 19 schools and colleges.

This abundant teaching and learning environment supports a 97 percent freshman retention rate and a 91 percent six-year graduation rate, one of the country's best — nine percentage points higher than just 12 years ago, and 33 percentage points above the national average for four-year institutions.

"Our holistic admissions process helps us identify students who will persevere and contribute to the University of Michigan during their years on campus," said Ted Spencer, associate vice provost and executive director of undergraduate admissions. "They are among the best and brightest, most energetic and creative students in the world. They are Wolverines, prepared in every way to succeed."

Continuing its commitment that financial need will not constitute a roadblock to admitted undergraduate students, the university is investing more general fund institutional resources in financial aid than ever before: $161.2 million in undergraduate and graduate student need-based financial aid, an increase of $16.4 million over the previous year. This is the fifth consecutive year with no increase in net cost for state-resident undergraduate students with need.

The entering class of 2013 is the fourth to be admitted under the new federal demographic classification system, which requires all institutions of higher education to collect and report data on race and ethnicity in a new way. This methodology is not directly comparable to years prior to 2010; so disaggregated figures for specific races and ethnicities are not reliably comparable to earlier years, although overall totals and grouped subtotals are fairly comparable.

Using the new reporting guidelines, underrepresented minority freshmen constitute 10.6 percent of the incoming class, an increase over the previous year, in which underrepresented minorities accounted for 10.0 percent of the incoming class under the post-2010 reporting categories.